IDG News Service —

Namibia’s ISP (Internet service provider), MWEB Africa, has installed VSAT that will provide Internet services in both rural and urban areas in order to increase connectivity across the country.

MWEB’s VSAT (very small aperture technology) earth station will provide a cost-effective Internet connection to any location in Namibia in order to cope with the country's increasing demand for Internet access.

The Namibian government is in a hurry to provide Internet services to rural areas in order to foster business development through easy communication, said ICT Minister Joel Kaapanda.

People in rural areas need to sell their products through e-commerce, and that can only be done through Internet connectivity, he said. Quick distribution is necessary, he added, in order for both businesses and communities to develop.

The Namibian government is developing a national ICT policy, which will influence the manner in which the technology is deployed in Namibia, Kaapanda revealed.

“The national information and technology policy formulation is at an advanced stage and, once approve by Parliament this year, will help in the fast distribution of Internet to people in rural areas,” he said.

Currently, Kaapanda said, there is an insufficient number of fixed-line public phones and limited, unreliable mobile coverage in many parts of Namibia.